6 Hip Flexor Exercises to Relieve Tight, Achy Hips

If your hip flexors — a group of four muscles that run along the front of your upper thighs — ever feel tight or achy, you may find it helpful to prioritize hip flexor exercises to both relieve pain and improve mobility.

Your hip flexors are involved in so many functional movements, like helping you stand up, walk, and bend over. They’re some of the strongest muscles in your body and also some of the most used, which can set them up for occasional stiffness or even injury. And even though exercise might feel uncomfortable, being sedentary is the last thing you want to do when treating (or trying to prevent) hip flexor pain. Instead, taking action with hip flexor exercises that improve strength and mobility in your hips is the key to improving hip pain. 

Read on to learn how hip flexor exercises can prevent or relieve pain, and discover the moves most highly recommended by Hinge Health physical therapists.

Interested in getting a personalized exercise therapy plan? Learn more about Hinge Health’s digital physical therapy program and see if you’re eligible.

6 Hip Flexor Exercises

The following exercises are recommended by Hinge Health physical therapists to stretch and strengthen your hip flexors. You can do these moves for pain relief after strenuous activity or after periods of prolonged sitting, which can cause hip flexors to shorten and tighten up.

This standing stretch targets the shorter muscles of your hip flexors, helping them comfortably reach the end of their range of motion during activities like walking, running, or even lying down flat in bed, says Alec Martinez, PT, DPT, a physical therapist at Hinge Health.

How to do it:

• Stand comfortably with your feet hip-width apart. 

• Take a big step forward with one foot.

• Bend through your front knee while you push your other hip forward. 

• Push through your front foot to step back and return to standing. 

Get more information on how to do the hip flexor stretch.

Why is stretching your quads important for your hip flexors? “One of the hip flexor muscles, the rectus femoris, is also part of the quadriceps in the thigh and crosses the knee joint,” explains Dr. Martinez. “Keeping your quads loose and mobile can be a large part of holistically treating your hip flexors.”

How to do it: 

• Stand and hold onto a table for support. 

• Bend your knee, bringing your heel up toward your butt, and grab onto your foot or ankle. 

• Once your foot is secure, gently pull your foot toward your butt until you feel a nice stretch in the front of your thigh and hold.

• Release your foot back to the floor to return to standing. 

Get more information on how to do the quad stretch.

This move builds strength and endurance in your hip flexors, which can help prevent them from getting tight as easily, says Dr. Martinez. And since this is a non-weight-bearing exercise, you may find it more tolerable if you’re already dealing with tight, achy hips.

How to do it: 

• Lie comfortably on your back with one leg resting straight on the floor. 

• Bend the knee of your other leg so that your foot is resting on the floor. 

• Raise your straight leg toward the ceiling. Focus on keeping your leg straight as you hold your leg high. 

• Relax your leg back to the floor. 

Get more information on how to do the straight leg raise.

This move, like the quad stretch, targets the rectus femoris, which aids in hip flexion (raising your leg) as well as knee extension. “Improving the endurance of this action can help keep this sometimes-missed muscle of the hip flexor in good shape,” says Dr. Martinez.

How to do it:

• Sit comfortably in a chair.  

• Move your foot toward the ceiling to straighten your leg. The back of your thigh should remain on the chair as you hold this position. 

• Relax your foot back to the floor.

For those needing a deeper stretch into the short muscles of the hip flexors, Dr. Martinez recommends this move, which is a progression of the classic hip flexor stretch. “This stretch can provide a deeper mobilization of the muscle, which can be helpful for those who are more athletic or have greater baseline flexibility,” he adds. 

How to do it:

• Rest one knee on the floor and line it up directly below your hip.

• Bend your other leg in front of you with your foot flat on the floor and your hands on your hips.

• Move your hips forward. 

• At the same time, bring your arms overhead reaching toward the ceiling to deepen the stretch. 

• Lower your arms and move your hips and knee back to the starting position.

This advanced leg-strengthening exercise helps strengthen the knee extensors and hip flexor muscles of your leg as you step back, while also working the hamstring and hip extensors of your opposite leg. It’s a great way to address both areas in one exercise, says Dr. Martinez.

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet a comfortable distance apart and your hands at your side or on your hips.

• Step one leg back to land on the ball of your foot. 

• While bending your knees, lower into a lunge position. Your weight should mostly be in your front leg, with your front knee positioned over your ankle. 

• Focus on your balance as you hold this lunge position. 

• Push through your front foot as you straighten your legs and return to standing. 

Get more information on how to do a reverse lunge.

The information contained in these videos is intended to be used for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice or treatment for any specific condition. Hinge Health is not your healthcare provider and is not responsible for any injury sustained or exacerbated by your use of or participation in these exercises. Please consult with your healthcare provider with any questions you may have about your medical condition or treatment.

Benefits of Hip Flexor Exercises

Hip flexor exercises offer many benefits, including: 

• Injury prevention. Weak hip flexors increase the risk of developing a hip flexor strain. That’s why stretching and strengthening your hips is so important. The stronger your hip flexors are, the more able they are to withstand the stress and strain of daily activity and exercise.

• Improved mobility. “Flexible hip flexors are essential for achieving a neutral posture, which can increase comfort both when standing upright and lying down flat,” says Dr. Martinez. “Many people who find they have back pain when lying down flat, or feel the need to hunch forward for back comfort when standing, can have greatly improved comfort with healthy hip flexors,” he adds. 

• Better walking mechanics. Improved hip flexor health also helps with your ability to perform one of the most common daily functions — walking! “The hip flexors are the primary muscle group that advances your leg when you walk, and their mobility helps govern how big a step you can take,” says Dr. Martinez. When your hip flexors aren’t tight or stiff you may find you can actually walk further and faster more comfortably.

• Less pain after sitting. Hip flexors are in one of their shortest positions when you sit. However, when they’re stronger and more flexible, you’ll experience less tightness after long periods of sitting, says Dr. Martinez. Still, it’s a good idea to change positions often. 

• Increased athletic performance. A 2021 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that those who frequently stretched their hip flexors improved their athletic performance. It also helped reduce low back pain in the study participants.

How Hinge Health Can Help You

If you have joint or muscle pain that makes it hard to move, you can get the relief you’ve been looking for with Hinge Health’s online exercise therapy program. 

The best part: You don’t have to leave your home because our program is digital. That means you can easily get the care you need through our app, when and where it works for you. 

Through our program, you’ll have access to therapeutic exercises and stretches for your condition. Additionally, you’ll have a personal care team to guide, support, and tailor our program to you. 

See if you qualify for Hinge Health and confirm free coverage through your employer or benefit plan here.

This article and its contents are provided for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice or professional services specific to you or your medical condition.

References 

1. Konrad, A., Močnik, R., Titze, S., Nakamura, M., & Tilp, M. (2021). The Influence of Stretching the Hip Flexor Muscles on Performance Parameters. A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1936. doi:10.3390/ijerph18041936

2. Pope, D. P. (2003). Hip pain onset in relation to cumulative workplace and leisure time mechanical load: a population based case-control study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 62(4), 322–326. doi:10.1136/ard.62.4.322

3. Alaia, M. J. (2020, July). Hip Strains. Ortho Info—American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Retrieved from https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/hip-strains/